Christmas Ornament Exchange

This is my third year participating in Vicky Hunt's annual Christmas Ornament Exchange. (Vicky can be found here with all the ornaments!)

Vicky matches each of us to a partner.



One to send a package and one to receive a package.

One day a large box arrived.

I opened it to find two gifts inside.

A lovely note from AnnMarie who blogs at  Musings of a Vintage Junkie .

The first package was this rustic star.

Distressed and rusty.

Jute and jingle bells.

Perfect for my den.

The other package contained one of AnnMarie's snow globes.

Of course the first thing I saw was the bottle brush tree.

Tied with red striped jute webbing and two jingle bells.

And peeking out in the snow was a small fox.

I have a secret obsession with foxes.

Maybe not so secret any more!

The snow globe has found a place in front of the old red barn with some other vintage bottle brush trees.

The star is nestled in a basket until we dig out the trees.

The star will remain on display throughout the year.

Thank you so much, AnnMarie!

AnnMarie and I are not only blog friends, but also Etsy team members.

 
You can visit her Etsy shop NaNa's Things.



My ornament box went to Debbie Harris from She Graces Her Home In God's Beauty in Colorado.  I made some ornaments and included some vintage ones.

A huge round of applause to Vicky for doing all the work to make the ornament exchange so much fun!


See y'all!




 

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA15

SHOP HERE! 

Framed!

Why, son of a nutcracker!

I've been framed!

What to do when you have a living room filled with stacks of frames waiting to be made over?

What to do when there is one very naked Christmas tree sitting in the middle of said living room?

What to do when guests are going to arrive before you even begin to decorate?

Well, frame the tree, of course!

I ditched all the traditional white and pastel ornaments and hundreds of white lights for a simple, but pleasing tree.

DO NOT TELL CHUCKS I BOUGHT FOUR BOXES OF VINTAGE SHINY BRITES WITH CHRISTMAS CHICKS JERRELL AND JEAN.

They made me do it.

I picked out a selection of frames to use - white and gold ones of different shapes and sizes.

Strung on eight hundred lights - half of what is usually on the tree.

I dragged out every single box of Shiny Brites and their off-brand cousins - about 20 dozen and went to work.

These pics were taken during the late afternoon when the sun catches the gold of the frames.


Pale green tulle was used to tie the frames.

Plus the extra left on the roll was stuffed in between the ornaments.

Miss Lizzie finally donned some clothes - my Great Aunt Clarice's summer garden party gown and her mother's crocheted purse.

Unfortunately Miss Lizzie is several sizes bigger than the gown, but you cannot tell from the front of the tree.

The larger frames are artfully placed with Miss Lizzie behind the tree.

Don't tell me I can't hide my junk.

My favorite balls framed.
















I did sneak a few glass balls from the eighties into the mix.

Framed - And I am loving it!

Remember to bring your holiday posts or other creations over tonight for Make It Monday. Sunday, 7PM Eastern time. Tamara (Etcetorize) will be choosing the features.


See y'all!


* It is the shortest day of the year - go crazy - get nekkid and dance in the yard! Or frame your balls!

See all the bottle brush trees at these posts:

Let The Bleaching Begin

Dying the Trees

Bottle Brush Trees on Corks

Bottle Brush Tree Joy

Bottle Brush Trees on Molds 

Bottle Brush Trees On Blocks  

Painted And Pearled 

Silver And Gold 

A Tiny Shake Of Christmas 

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

<

Merry Ornament Exchange

Vicky of  Life on Willie Mae Lane hosted her second annual ornament exchange.

An ornament exchange is serious business, folks.

You only have one chance to nail it.

I had no idea who had my name.

Then I arrived home to find a package from Tina of  What We Keep.

Oh, joy!

I love Tina's stuff!

Well, there was that one corn incident, but that is behind us.

You can read about the corn incident here. 


Look at the goodies carefully nestled in cheetah tissue.

A mini Samuel de Champlain.

A bristly, bottle brush squirrel who instantly won my heart.

Tina slipped an extra cupcake ornament in for my birthday.

Wow, looks like Santa was sure glad to see that cupcake!

My favorite - Tina created the ornament from a chunk of reclaimed wood, a golf spike, a cloth heart, and two tiny squirrels scampering about the top.

It looks just like a miniature mantel.

These were beautifully wrapped.

A silver Santa bell who will fit in with my Santa collection.

And the woodland bottle brush tree ornament.

I may have to choose another favorite - I love the woodland scene.

And the silver Santa bell.

When I began to open the box, Chucks saw Tina's name on the box and asked if she was the one who had sent me corn before.

I told him Tina knew not to put corn in the box.

Folded in the bottom was this holiday popcorn bag with our name on it.

Tina does have a wicked sense of humor.

Don't worry - the bag was empty.

Samuel de Champlain wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas.

And a huge THANK YOU to Tina for my lovely ornaments.



I sent an ornament box to Tania of  Little Vintage Cottage.  You can read what she received HERE.

Vicky will be hosting a gathering of everyone who participated this weekend.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

SHOP HERE! 

<

Frozen Charlottes Travel to Florida and France!

 Every reader knows how I love my Frozen Charlottes.  After signing up for the ornament exchange at Vicky's, I decided to make ornaments using three of the girls.

One would travel to Magali in Brittany, France. 
(The Little White House On The Seaside)

One would travel to Vicky (Life On Willie Mae Lane) in Florida.

And one would stay here with me and hang on the tree.

Materials:
*Vintage-looking paper
*Three Frozen Charlottes
(They all clamored to go - it was hard to choose!)
*Three small paper mache' boxes with window lids
*Bottle brush trees
*Mod Podge
*E-6000 glue
*Craft paint

Mod Podge the paper on the boxes.

While the bottoms dried, I painted the lids with blue.

Then I added a silver glaze over both the lids and the bottoms.

 I attached a silver wire to the sides and secured it with small buttons. I used an eyelet on the holes so the wire would not pull through.

The Frozen Charlottes and bottle brush trees were attached with E-6000.

 

Yes, it is difficult to glue a one-legged doll to a small box.

Added some silver glitter around each opening.

Glued the lid to the bottom.

 A Carol  Of The Holly - on the back of each.

I stamped the lids with "NOEL" and some stars.

Tied on a silvery tinsel ribbon.

Displayed them with a book of maps of Paris just in case one gets to go there!

 Hey, where did my sisters go?

Don't despair - this Charlotte will be prominently displayed on my tree.

Magali and Vicky loved their ornaments.

 I had so much fun making them that I forgot to make extras for family and friends.

YIKES!

Back to work.



See y'all!



Part One of Horror Monster VS The Slash Room?  Read about it here!

Part Two of Horror Monster VS The Slash Room?   Read about it here! 

Part Three of Horror Monster vs The Slash Room?  Read about it here! 

See all the bottle brush trees at these posts:

Let The Bleaching Begin

Dying the Trees

Bottle Brush Trees on Corks

Bottle Brush Tree Joy

Bottle Brush Trees on Molds 

Bottle Brush Trees On Blocks 

Knick of Time Tuesday #116
Be Inspired #168 at Common Ground 
The Cottage Market Presents Junkin' Joe 

</